Daren's CAS Blog

During Enrichment Week, I took part in a golf activity with a couple of my friends at the Empire Hotel & Country Club. It was led by a few of our school teachers, and we were guided by a golf professional, John. The first few days was to make sure we had the correct techniques to swing the club and hit the golf ball. Then, the next few were the fun bit. 

We were given the privilege of playing in one of Asia Pacific's finest golf course which normally would have been a lot more expensive. Buggy service was also available as seen in the image below which helped in moving our clubs around the different holes. We played the 9 holes well for amateurs. We improved in the second time we went through the same 9 holes as we were more familiar with the course. 

Golf will always be a fun sport for me, and I enjoyed this activity a lot. My friends tease me that this is a rich man's sport, but I believe that if you're really passionate about it, it can reap the rewards. Looking at the prizes of International Golf Tournaments, it is worthwhile to take professional lessons to play like a Golf Pro. Frankly speaking, if I had more spare time on hand, Golf would be a sport I'd invest some time in.

Applying for this leadership role has been one of my most significant step forward in learning how to be a role model for others. Despite being relatively new to the school when compared to my peers, I was really delighted to know that I was chosen to be the House Captain of Ibis.

Some of the responsibilities that come with holding this role are such as organising duty roles (as we are a boarding house), ensuring that everyone in the house is physically and mentally well. There was a time when one of the boarding kids wasn’t feeling the best, and I stepped in to talk to him and gave him advice. I felt great knowing that I helped someone go through a rough patch and we grew a closer bond after that.

In addition to that, I have also organised multiple events in partnership with our sister house, Blackeye. We managed to set up a stall selling baked goods during our school’s International Day 2018 and needless to say, they all sold out pretty quickly. It took less than half an hour, and everything went out. The profits out of the baked goods were then split to a few student-led charity groups in our school.

Having joined Mindfulness, I have learnt the art of being aware of the present moment, developed through the practice of meditation. Mindful meditation helped me to deal with my stresses. It helped me realise that other people deal with them too and I am not alone in this battle. Nobody is perfect, and life is not easy, but we must remain in control of the situation. For me, meditation is definitely one way to stay calm in cases where I am feeling overwhelmed. This is a skill that I would take with me even in the future, especially in university.

Exercising helps to relieve stress. Taking up this activity has lead me to maintain a good physique as well as a positive mental attitude. In this activity, we did a circuit type exercise where we had to partner up with someone and take turns to do a set of different techniques. Each turn lasts for 1 minute so generally, it is a burst of energy in that 1 minute and a short break for the next minute. It is an excellent way to strengthen the friendship with my partner as we both encouraged each other to do that one extra rep each time. It is a gratifying experience, and I would most likely take it up again in the upcoming term.

On the 24th of March (Earth Hour), there was a night run held in Kuala Belait. I went with a couple of my friends to the event and it was surprisingly very lively. The street lights were turned off for most of the route but that is why we had to bring our own glowsticks/flashlight. it was a good opportunity to exercise as well as meet up with my friends and stay updated with each other’s lives.

Despite not doing the Gym CCA Club anymore this term, I still consistently go to the gym on the weekends. I ask my dad to come along with me so that we both can work out and stay fit. It’s great fun to go workout in my opinion. In addition to that, it frees my feeling of guilt of eating good food the days before going to the gym! I also managed to improve my strength and resistance because I am able to lift heavier weights and for more repetitions. 

I went out with my friends on the weekend to the beach to fly a kite. It was the first time I’ve ever flown one. The weather was perfect, the wind was gusty, and the beach was clean. We bought the kite from a local store in town, and it was relatively cheap to get our hands on one considering the fact that it’s so hard to find one and also that nobody usually flies it anymore.

This CCA was a new experience for me as I rarely spend time with young children. Not only did this made me feel like I was reliving my childhood but it was great fun too playing with them. These children are very active and they love running around. Most of the time after the children are tired of playing games, they would sit in the room where the TV was and watch cartoon shows. 

I joined a 3 kilometres night run with a friend of mine who studies in an International School in Singapore. It started off really well with clear skies but all of a sudden, it started to rain heavily. My friend and I hoped that the rain would go away soon but it continued all the way until we finished the run.

There was quite a number of participants that night and like us, many of them continued the run despite the extra obstacle. From this, it shows perseverance and focus.

Taking part in Extreme Maths has helped me to further develop my critical thinking skills to solve problems. The questions that we attempted were questions from the Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing. 

Model United Nations has kickstarted my drive to become more outspoken as I’ve mentioned before in my previous posts. Hence the reason I decided to continue this CCA as well as to teach the students that are trying this CCA for the first time. 

I shot and edited a mini film for our IB Trip to Temburong that lasted for 2 days & 1 night. It took me more than 8 hours to compile and edit the video, but I’m proud of the end result. I shared the video with my friends, family and teachers and they were impressed with my editing skills.

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5T7cFapP-I&t

A snapshot from the video

This term, I felt like learning a new sport so I decided to try golf. It’s a CCA Club that is held weekly at The Empire Hotel & Country Club. There was a professional golf coach present to teach us the proper techniques as well as golf etiquettes.

I started off pretty well and as the weeks went by, I managed to swing the club properly and consecutively launch the golf ball in a straight line at a good distance.

We also went to the Jerudong Par 3 Golf Course to see what it’s like to be in a real course and the different challenges we have to face (e.g: uneven ground level). This was interesting to me as suddenly some of my shots were off but as the game progressed, I managed to get back on track.

To sum up, I really enjoyed playing golf and I can certainly see myself in the future playing this sport during my leisure time.

After a very successful run of service work in this CCA in Term 1, I decided to take part in it again for Term 2. 

We discussed as a group and came up with a new idea of selling drink floats! This was another new step forward for the CCA Club as we were able to carry out this fundraising activity smoothly. The number of students coming to buy a drink and support was, at times pretty overwhelming and the queue line was long indeed.

Groupmates setting up the stall in the picture above

Students ordering drinks during lunchtime when this activity was carried out